After my previous disastrous attempt at making Cinnamon Star Cookies, I vowed not to be beaten by mere cookies! I asked a German friend of mine, Brigitte, if she happened to have a recipe for them that was tried and tested. She didn't, but her mama did.... I had intended to make the cookies straight away, but Christmas baking and The Great Almond Shortage of 2004, conspired together and kept me from baking them.
In a happy coincidence, I received the most fabulous Christmas present from our friends Grant and Sarah � Nigella Lawson's Cookie Cutter Set. One of the two star cutters it contains was the perfect size for these cookies. The first thing I thought of when I saw the cutters was more star cookies!
So, I am very proud to present my second successful attempt at making these delectable cookies. As you can see, it was much more successful! For a start, the cookies kept their shape. Secondly, the meringue didn't brown. And best of all, I managed to avoid turning my counters into sticky messes!
I've reproduced the recipe (below) as it was given to me, with just a slight polishing of the translation from German. Whilst baking the cookies I made some tiny changes to the technique based upon my previous experience:
- I beat the egg whites with the lemon juice to ensure that they whipped up to the biggest possible volume.
- Mixed the ground cinnamon with the ground almonds before folding that mixture into the meringue.
- Most importantly, I rolled the dough out between two sheets of clingfilm. I am the Clingfilm Queen! This eliminates the need to cover the work surface in extra sugar and thus removes the possibility of things ending in a sticky mess. Divide the dough into smaller portions to do this, keeping the remainder of the dough in the fridge whilst working with one portion.
- Dipped the cookie cutter in some cold water to prevent it sticking.
- Re-rolled all the scraps as they hadn't been toughened or made overly sticky by adding in extra sugar.
The cookies taste as good as they look. Sweet, almondy, and with a heavenly aroma and kick from the cinnamon. I threw in a good dash of spiced rum and that just comes through in the taste - I think using Amaretto liqueur would add a really special touch to the cookies.
Thank-you Brigitte!!
Cinnamon Star Cookies, courtesy of Brigitte and her mama.
Makes 30-40 cookies
3 large eggs
350g icing sugar for the dough (and some more icing or regular white sugar to sprinkle the surface you work on with, don't use flour here)
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1� teaspoon of ground cinnamon
400g of ground almonds
Baking paper or parchment or whatever you use to keep the stuff from sticking to the baking tray.
Separate egg yolks from whites and beat whites until stiff peaks form. Slowly sift in the sugar and lemon juice, then beat some more for about 8 minutes. Put aside 4 heaped tablespoons of the meringue - this will be used to top the cookies later on.
Add ground almonds and cinnamon to the remaining meringue and mix well. You might want to add a dash of rum or Amaretto. Cover the dough and let it rest in the fridge for about an hour.
Sit down, relax and have a cup of tea.
After an hour fetch the dough from the fridge. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 3/160 �C. Sprinkle a surface with confectioners' or regular white sugar and roll the dough to approx. 5 mm. Cut the stars with a star shaped (yes, indeed!) cookie cutter. Put the stars on the lined baking sheet.
Now get the reserved meringue from earlier. You might have to stir it a bit so it becomes a smooth mix. You also might want to add some more lemon juice. It's a matter of taste. Now brush the cookies with the topping and bake them for about 8 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet.
Store in an air-tight tin. The cookies should keep for about two weeks.
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Comments
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Wow, they're bee-yoo-tee-full! Mazel tov.
1. Posted by debbie on November 21, 2007
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Wow these look so cute!
And delicious too, might I add ;)
2. Posted by Neighbour of Teh Hoors on November 21, 2007
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Wow, those are beautiful indeed! Good work! I am afraid to admit that they look difficult and I'm a bit intimidated by the recipe. I'm sure they would be very well received if I do manage them successfully!
3. Posted by Alice on November 21, 2007
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Hi Alice! Don't be put off at all. If you can make meringue then you can definitely make these cookies. The only thing to watch out for is the dough perhaps being too soft. If that happens, even after chilling, then knead in some more almonds and everything should be okay.
Thanks Pauline :) Maybe I'll take some to Vienna for your birthday!!
Thank-you Debbie!
4. Posted by Angela on November 21, 2007
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Those look delicious!
5. Posted by nikko on November 21, 2007
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Hey those look very cute! :) Thanks for your comment, I can't believe how hard it is to find some damn coconut these days! Oh and I agree about wishing for that pretty coconut topped cake. What a shame! :(
6. Posted by AJ on November 21, 2007
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I would like to see the same in the sky, hold out the hand and eat one or two or more...
7. Posted by Mijo on November 21, 2007
Hey Ang! :)
After a long time I made the cinnamon star cookies this Thursday. I almost forgot how wonderful they taste. We didn't have clingfilm at hand so I rolled the dough using sugar, but my friend said why not mix the sugar 50/50 with more ground almonds. That way the dough didn't get too sticky/sweet. It worked out great, and we were able to use almost all of the dough.
Greetz
B.
8. Posted by Brigitte on December 6, 2007